To avoid core saturation and to establish a certain inductance value in the case of inductive components, solid iron or ferrite cores of transformers and inductors for example are provided with an air gap. The air gap represents an interruption of the magnetic core in the form of a gap and determines the effective permeability μE of the magnetic circuit and also the inductance of the fully assembled inductive component. In order to achieve the desired inductance or permeability, the air gap must have a predefined width within the narrowest possible limits.
An air gap may be subsequently ground into the core after the pressing and sintering. However, it is found with inductive components in which the air gap is ground into the core after the pressing and sintering of the core that different inductance or permeability values occur. The different inductance and permeability values are substantially caused by fluctuations of process parameters during the production process and by slightly different material parameters of the iron or ferrite material used for the core. It is disadvantageous in particular that the grinding of a gap into the core material is a complex operation that involves increased costs.